Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock - 5 Must-See Suspense Classics
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These 2 Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Movies and 3 Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes are must-see mysteries for classic movie fans.
The master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock collaborated with the American stage and film actor Joseph Cotten on 2 Alfred Hitchcock movies and 3 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes.
The genres of the Alfred Hitchcock movies include a film noir thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943), and a regency-era love triangle drama Under Capricorn 1949.
The movies have a masterful dose of Hitchcock romance and mystery sprinkled in. Plus, you are dying to know whether Joseph Cotten is the good guy or the bad guy.
The Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes starring Joseph Cotten have a diverse array of plots, with quirky and unforgettable endings.
Each episode is hosted by the colorful and rotund Alfred Hitchcock himself and is laced with sarcasm and wit.
This post is all about Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Movies and Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Stars Joseph Cotten cast as Uncle Charlie. This film noir thriller also stars Teresa Wright and Macdonald Carey.
Stars Joseph Cotton cast as Sam Flusky. This love triangle costume drama also stars Ingrid Bergman and Michael Wilding.
Breakdown (Season 1, Episode 7) Stars Joseph Cotten cast as William Calle (13/Nov/1955)
Together (Season 3, Episode 15) Stars Joseph Cotten cast as Tony Gould (12/Jan/1958)
Dead Weight (Season 5, Episode 9) Stars Joseph Cotten cast as Courtney Masterson (22/Nov/1959)
NOTE: As of the writing of this post, Amazon has only digitized Seasons 1 & 2 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The other seasons are available in DVD format. Hopefully all seasons will be available via streaming soon.
Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock
Joseph Cotten or “Joe Cotten” was a talented actor in Old Hollywood.
He was a down to earth, a “boy-next-door” with a great sense of humor, and was also described as "gentle, witty, and self-effacing".
Joseph Cotten loved that he was not cast into a single role type, such as the Rom Com Guy or Action Hero, but instead acted across genres.
This ability to act across genres is especially apparent in his work he did with Alfred Hitchcock.
“One reason I am so happy in Hollywood making pictures is because I have had so many different roles and have never been typed.”
His witty personality is likely one of the reasons he loved working with Hitchcock, who was famous for his British humor.
“Anyone who can make a picture for Alfred Hitchcock is lucky. He teaches the actor to relax. He is fun and he knows exactly what he wants. He inspires you to have confidence in yourself. I would give up almost any picture to have Hitchie direct me.”
Joseph Cotten’s talent is evident in the Alfred Hitchcock movies where he plays a complex characters with a covert sex appeal.
Also his acting has a vivid realness in the Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes.
Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Movies #1: Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
The first movie Joseph Cotten collaborated on with Hitchcock was Shadow of a Doubt.
When Shadow of a Doubt (1943) opens, it feels more like an idyllic 1940’s family drama, instead of a suspenseful Hitchcock movie.
Watch this movie with a large bowl of popcorn and a bottle of your favorite drink as it’s a bit slow to get going.
Give Hitchcock time to paint the backdrop for this mystery and it’ll be worth your wait!
Shadow of A Doubt 1943 Synopsis
Joseph Cotten plays the role of “Uncle Charlie” who telegrams his sister from the big city to announce that he will be visiting their small town.
The family is overjoyed, especially his bored niece (Teresa Wright), with whom he has a special relationship. She is even named after him and is referred to as “Young Charlie.”
Young Charlie does not believe there is enough excitement in her small utopian 1940’s town.
That is all about to change.
She slowly grows to suspect that her beloved Uncle Charlie is the “Merry Widow” killer hunted nationwide by the police.
This cold murder lures wealthy widows for their fortune and then kills them and disappears.
Fun facts!
This was Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite movie! He loved the thrill of introducing menace to an idyllic small town. This movie also had a ton of personal touches from Hitchcock’s own life. The names of Young Charlie's parents were based on Hitchcock's middle name and his mother’s name. The bicycle accident that happened to Joseph Cotten’s character as a child also happened to Hitchcock. The father’s close friend is obsessed with murder, just like Hitchcock.
The movie is inspired by the true story of Earle Nelson, a mass murderer of the 1920s who went on a 16-month killing spree. He targeted wealthy widows who owned boarding houses. He tried to trick his way into ownership, and then would murder the proprietresses, steal money and jewels, and target the next victim.
Alfred Hitchcock tried unsuccessfully to get William Powell for the role of Uncle Charlie. We’re glad Joseph Cotten got the role. His performance was brilliant!
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Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Movies #2: Under Capricorn (1949)
Joseph Cotten’s second collaboration with Hitchcock, Under Capricorn is a slower paced Hitchcock costume drama. It’s also the only Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock movie that’s in color.
Again, it starts out slow as Hitchcock takes his time painting the cast of characters set against the backdrop of the frontier town of Sydney Australia in the 1830’s.
The vivid technicolor captures the opulence of the regency-era costumes and Joseph Cotten’s raw charisma.
This is one of the most underrated of Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock’s films that has recently come into its own as a masterpiece.
Under Capricorn 1949 Synopsis
In Under Capricorn, Joseph Cotten plays the volatile ex-convict Sam Flusky with a mysterious background, having served 7 years for murder.
He advanced from a stable boy in England to one of the wealthiest landowners in Sydney Australia, and married the beautiful noblewoman Lady Henrietta Flusky (Ingrid Bergman).
His wife has strange hallucinations and spends her time locked in her room drinking her past away.
The handsome noble born, Honorable Charles Adare (Michael Wilding) arrives in Australia and wants to help Lady Henrietta Flusky get better. Sam Flusky eagerly agrees, until he becomes jealous of him.
In true Hitchcock style, all is not as it appears, as there is not only one love triangle at play, but two!
Fun fact!
Joseph Cotton called this movie "Under Corny Crap" (in his autobiography Vanity Will Get You Somewhere). It’s rumored that he also had called the movie this on-set and it angered Alfred Hitchcock. It seems like it took Alfred Hitchcock six years to get over this before he cast Joseph Cotton in his next film.
Alfred Hitchcock wanted Burt Lancaster to star in the role since he thought it would be more believable as Sam Flusky. We think Joseph Cotten sizzled as an ex-stable boy who won the heart of Lady Henrietta (Ingrid Bergman), so that she pursued him across continents!
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Joseph Cotten and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”
Each Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode is a unique short story, interlaced with themes dear to Hitchcock: horror, crime, drama, and romance.
We prefer the Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock movies over the Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes, since the movies have more in-depth stories and characters.
Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Breakdown (Season 1, Episode 7: 1955)
The first Alfred Hitchcock Presents Episode that Joseph Cotten starred in was Breakdown. Although the plot is simple, it is horrifying and disturbing.
You keep wanting to turn it off, but can’t until you find out what is going to happen to Joseph Cotten’s character, who it appears will be buried alive.
Joseph Cotten’s character William Calle is a ruthless and callous CEO.
On vacation, he doesn’t hesitate to fire a senior employee whose entire career and livelihood is wrapped up in his job.
Joseph Cotten’s character William Callew then mocks the employee for crying. “He should have learned to control his emotions.”
Driving back to New York he experiences a horrific car accident. When he regains consciousness, he is pinned against the steering wheel with his neck snapped.
He is completely paralized.
Although he is unable to move, his mind is fully functioning. He carries on a running dialogue in his mind that you hear, as he begs for help.
Thieves pick his car and body of valuables, talking about him as a corpse. Next comes the EMT pronouncing him dead as well.
At the mortuary, the corners also examine his body and believe he is dead.
William Callew can hear their entire conversation and is frightened out of his mind that he will be buried alive.
He tries to move one finger to tap the mortuary gurney to show he is alive, but no one sees it.
Finally the mortician takes one last look at him and sees a tear rolling down his cheek. He is shocked to discover he is alive!
So the callous CEO who mocked his employee for showing emotion is saved by showing emotion… just in the nick of time!
Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Together (Season 3, Episode 15: 1958)
The next Alfred Hitchcock Presents Episode that Joseph Cotten starred in three years later was Together. It is eerie and and has the usual Hitchcock touches of horror and crime for a romance gone sour.
It’s another one you want to turn it off, since you know it can’t end well, but you still want to see what’s going to happen to Joseph Cotten’s character, who gets locked in with the body of the ex-girlfriend he just murdered.
Joseph Cotten’s character Tony Gould is a calculating man with a rich wife and a secret girlfriend.
During the office Christmas party, his girlfriend, Shelley, rings him up and gives him an ultimatum--divorce his wife and marry her, or she’ll spill the beans.
Tony assures her he will take care of his wife so that they can be together. He heads to the office to pick her up after the party. When the girlfriend realizes he still hasn’t told his wife, she picks up the phone to dial her.
Joseph Cotten’s character Tony slams down the receiver and stabs her. He then stuffs her body into the shower.
As he tries to leave the room, he realizes he is locked in, and the key in Shelley’s purse breaks off.
For hours he tries getting out of the office. He finally is able to flag down a neighbor. She believes he is crazy and calls the police.
When they come, he pretends he is the business executive who works in the office suite and accidentally got locked in.
However at that moment his drunk friend bumbles in to pick him up and points out the dead woman’s body in front of the police!
Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Dead Weight (Season 5, Episode 9: 1959)
The last Alfred Hitchcock Presents Episode that Joseph Cotten starred in was Dead Weight.
This one feels alot like a Perry Mason mystery, with crime, beautiful women, and blackmail.
We liked this one the best of the Joseph Cotten Alfred Hitchcock Presents since it had a more of a story line, better side characters, and the 1950’s fashion was top notch.
Joseph Cotten’s character is Courtney Masterson, a marketing executive married to a beautiful rich woman. At work he is surprised to bump into an old girlfriend.
They end up making out at lover’s lane and are attacked by a robber at gunpoint. Somehow Courtney manages to get the upper hand and stuffs the robber into his trunk.
He drops the beautiful girlfriend off at her home, and when he is about to let the robber go, he realizes the criminal plans to milk him for money.
He kills the robber and persuades the police that he acted in self defense.
At the office the next day, a detective asks to see him. The detective announces he isn’t working for the police, but rather is in the wife’s pay, and was trailing him last night.
The private investigator knows everything that happened and is ready to strike a deal. Blackmail!
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